Help! My Growing Lipoma Is Becoming Irritating
The good news about having a lipoma is that it’s usually not cause for concern and doesn’t require treatment. But if you have a lipoma that’s causing problems, here’s what you can do.
Top 5 Symptoms of Pilonidal Cysts
A pilonidal cyst is a frequently painful condition that originates in the skin at the base of your spine/upper gluteal crease. While often present for years before becoming symptomatic, once they do their treatment can be very problematic for several reasons including their often recurrent nature and difficult “pain in the butt” location. Fortunately, if you know what to look for and get early treatment, they can be a very manageable condition.
How pilonidal cysts start
Why precisely pilonidal cysts occur isn’t fully understood, but the primary reason seems to be hair, whether your own or other hairs you’re exposed to from the environment. Since younger people are most affected, it’s believed hormone changes after puberty also play a part.
Pressure and friction from your clothes press a hair back into your skin, and your body reacts in much the same way as if you developed a splinter. Your immune system jumps into action and forms a cyst to contain what it perceives as a foreign body. It’s even possible to have several pilonidal cysts that connect under the skin.
Potential complications of pilonidal cysts
While a cyst is often not a major problem, it can become infected. During World War II, over 80,000 soldiers required hospital visits due to pilonidal cysts, thought to result from the pressure and friction experienced in rough-riding army jeeps. This was such a common occurrence that this is still often referred to as “jeep drivers disease”. While most will eventually be self limiting, the chronic nature can rarely cause more serious issues, including an increased risk of developing skin cancer at the site of chronic irritation.
The top 5 symptoms of pilonidal cysts
There are a few common signs that a pilonidal cyst is forming. Given the typical location, you may not notice the cyst until its development is well underway. As the cyst advances, you may notice:
- Tenderness beginning near the base of your spine, just above your buttocks, possibly noted when you’re sitting with pressure on the area
- Pressure and pain developing at the site of the tenderness over time
- A red, swollen bump forming at the site of the cyst that may have a coarse hair protruding
- Pus and/or blood discharge, with bad-smelling pus, coming from at least one hole in your skin
- Accompanying low-grade fever, indicating the cyst has become infected, though this is a less common symptom
Treating a pilonidal cyst
Like other abscesses and boils, antibiotics alone often won’t clear up an active pilonidal cyst. Treatment for these cysts requires draining and cleaning. Depending on the size and shape of the cyst, Dr. deVilleneuve may leave the cyst site open to let it heal from the inside, or he may close the site with stitches. Closing the wound promotes faster healing but may risk recurrence at the site.
If you’ve developed a pilonidal cyst, you can contact Surgical Associates of North Texas by phone or online to schedule an appointment. Frequently, early diagnosis and initiation of treatment can lessen the severity and shorten the duration of flare ups of the disease. Therefore, if you are concerned that you may have a pilonidal cyst or abscess, don’t delay in seeking treatment. Even if surgery is needed, it is always an outpatient procedure that is usually accomplished with minimal complications. If you have any questions or concerns, call us today to set up an appointment.
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